In Life of Pi, the orangutan demonstrates that effectively utilizing a skill requires the attitude to do so. Many times while stuck at sea Pi must overcome mental blocks to survive, not lack of skill. Pi knows very well how to butcher a fish: chop its head off. But in order to kill the fish, Pi has to overcome his vegetarian attitude. He weeps and weeps for the sea creature but ultimately, "knew it had to be done" and kills the fish (Martel 183). Martel’s orangutan, Orange Juice, demonstrates the consequences when one fails to take the proper attitude. He immediately makes the raw strength of the animal clear to readers. As Pi’s father warns Pi and his brother about the dangers of the zoo animals, he vividly describes the power of orangutans “as strong as ten men. They'll break your bones as if they were twigs” (Martel 37). Pi also notes Orange Juice's strength through her fearsome teeth and loud roar, “She pulled back her lips showing off enormous canines, and began to roar. It was a deep, powerful, huffing roar” (Martel 128). An orangutan’s roar, named “Long Call,” is loud enough for one to hear at over a mile away (Orangutan.com). Orange Juice faces a test of her strength and will in chapter 47 when the hyena attacks her. She initially utilizes it, thumping the hyena hard on the head. But when the hyena counter-attacks, she does not fare so well because she does not fight with proper mindset. While the expert predator fearlessly goes for her neck, “her defense lacked precision and coherence” (Martel 131). Despite her fearsome canines and brute strength, Orange Juice cannot defend herself without the combat mindset of a predator, “what does a fruit eater know about killing?” (Martel 130). Wild orangutans’ diet consists almost entirely of fruit, only occasionally eating meat in the form of a small insect (World Wildlife Fund: Orangutans). They use their upper body strength only to swing from tree to tree, their main mode of transportation (Orangutan.com). Furthermore, Orange Juice lacks the attitude of a fighter. She is a gentle mother “practicing her maternal skills” (Martel 130), not a fearless fighter like the hyena. To fight effectively, one needs to fight aggressively and fearlessly. Her fighting spirit came directly from fear, which “only hampered her” (Martel 131). Orange Juice falls prey to the fearless hyena despite her strength and grit. She possessed the skills necessary to survive, but without attitude to use them effectively, her skills proved useless. Orange Juice connects to what could have been Pi, had he not abandoned his old vegetarian, peaceful mindset. Pi does what he needs to survive: he "abandoned the last vestiges of humanness" (Martel 214). When facing death, one must abandon any previous morals in favor savagery to survive, no matter how difficult or terrible. Pi struggles with this key adjustment and almost dies at sea because of it, just like the gentle orangutan.
References from Novel
“I left for school under the benevolent gaze not only of Mother but also … stretching and yawning orang-utans” (Martel 14)
“I noticed Sitaram, who oversaw the orang-utans, my favourite keeper” (Martel 33)
“‘As strong as ten men. They'll break your bones as if they were twigs. I know some of them were once pets and you played with them when they were small. But now they're grown-up and wild and unpredictable.’” (Martel 37)
“She came floating on an island of bananas in a halo of light, as lovely the Virgin Mary. The rising sun was behind her. Her flaming hair looked stunning” (Martel 111)
“‘Oh blessed Great Mother, Pondicherry fertility goddess, provider of milk and love, wondrous arm spread of comfort, terror of ticks, picker-up of crying ones, are you to witness this tragedy too? It's not right that gentleness meet horror’” (Martel 111)
“‘What do you know about the sea? Nothing. What do I know about the sea? Nothing. Without a driver this bus is lost. Our lives are over.’” (Martel 111)
“It was Orange Juice-so called because she tended to drool-our prize Borneo orang-utan matriarch, zoo star and mother of two fine boys, surrounded by a mass of black spiders that crawled around her like malevolent worshippers.“ (Martel 111-112)
“Orange Juice was in a fog. Her gestures were slow and tentative and her eyes reflected deep mental confusion. She was in a state of profound shock.” (Martel 112)
“Orange Juice had seemed practically cataleptic. My guess was she was dying of shock.” (Martel 113)
“an orang-utan, an unfamiliar one [prey]” (Martel 113)
“I let out a laugh. Everything about Orange Juice at that moment spelled one word: seasickness. The image of a new species popped into my head: the rare seafaring green orang-utan. I returned to my sitting position. The poor dear looked so humanly sick! It is a particularly funny thing to read human traits in animals, especially in apes and monkeys, where it is so easy. Simians are the clearest mirrors we have in the animal world … she had also taken on both our feelings of seasickness. I was feeling fine now.” (Martel 121-122)
“she was uninjured. And she had her back turned to the hyena, as if she felt she could safely ignore it.” (Martel 122)
“They are in the trees because that is where they live, not because they are afraid of the spotted hyenas.” (Martel 123)
“ she looked like a refrigerator on crooked wheels” (Martel 126)
“She pulled back her lips, showing off enormous canines, and began to roar. It was a deep, powerful, huffing roar, amazing for an animal normally as silent as a giraffe” (Martel 128)
“ I underestimated her. I underestimated her grit.” (Martel 129)
“She thumped the beast on the head. It was something shocking. It made my heart melt with love and admiration and fear. Did I mention she was a former pet, callously discarded by her Indonesian owners?“ (Martel 129)
“She remained gentle and unaggressive her whole life … She was a young female practising her maternal skills … This display of ferocity, of savage courage, made me realize that I was wrong. All my life I had known only a part of her” (Martel 130)
“She thumped the beast on the head. And what a thump it was … Orange Juice's stirring defence brought a glow to my heart.“ (Martel 130)
“An adult female orang-utan cannot defeat an adult male spotted hyena. That is the plain empirical truth … What it comes down to is attitude and knowledge. What does a fruit eater know about killing? … An orang-utan may be taller, may have very strong and agile arms and long canines, but if it does not know how to use these as weapons, they are of little use.” (Martel 130)
“To the end she reminded me of us: her eyes expressed fear in such a humanlike way, as did her strained whimpers” (Martel 131)
“She looked like a simian Christ on the Cross” (Martel 132)
“ his mother is the orang-utan” (Martel 311)
Physical Characteristics
Largest tree-dwelling mammal in the world
Have unique orange-red color unlike any other ape
Feet are more like extra pair of hands enabling dexterity when moving in treetops but awkward ground walking
Live 35-40 year in wild and 50 in captivity
Puberty at 8 years but females not ready for birth until teenage years
Males over 200 pounds in weight
Females are half to a third the size of males
Make distinct, lowd, throat-generated sound named “Long Call” which can be heard at 1.2 mile range
Highly intelligent and close relative to human sharing 97% of DNA
Born with ability to think and reason… some even make tools
Wingspan of 7ft, greater than height of 5ft. Their arms almost touch ground when standing upright
In Life of Pi, the orangutan demonstrates that effectively utilizing a skill requires the attitude to do so. Many times while stuck at sea Pi must overcome mental blocks to survive, not lack of skill. Pi knows very well how to butcher a fish: chop its head off. But in order to kill the fish, Pi has to overcome his vegetarian attitude. He weeps and weeps for the sea creature but ultimately, "knew it had to be done" and kills the fish (Martel 183). Martel’s orangutan, Orange Juice, demonstrates the consequences when one fails to take the proper attitude. He immediately makes the raw strength of the animal clear to readers. As Pi’s father warns Pi and his brother about the dangers of the zoo animals, he vividly describes the power of orangutans “as strong as ten men. They'll break your bones as if they were twigs” (Martel 37). Pi also notes Orange Juice's strength through her fearsome teeth and loud roar, “She pulled back her lips showing off enormous canines, and began to roar. It was a deep, powerful, huffing roar” (Martel 128). An orangutan’s roar, named “Long Call,” is loud enough for one to hear at over a mile away (Orangutan.com). Orange Juice faces a test of her strength and will in chapter 47 when the hyena attacks her. She initially utilizes it, thumping the hyena hard on the head. But when the hyena counter-attacks, she does not fare so well because she does not fight with proper mindset. While the expert predator fearlessly goes for her neck, “her defense lacked precision and coherence” (Martel 131). Despite her fearsome canines and brute strength, Orange Juice cannot defend herself without the combat mindset of a predator, “what does a fruit eater know about killing?” (Martel 130). Wild orangutans’ diet consists almost entirely of fruit, only occasionally eating meat in the form of a small insect (World Wildlife Fund: Orangutans). They use their upper body strength only to swing from tree to tree, their main mode of transportation (Orangutan.com). Furthermore, Orange Juice lacks the attitude of a fighter. She is a gentle mother “practicing her maternal skills” (Martel 130), not a fearless fighter like the hyena. To fight effectively, one needs to fight aggressively and fearlessly. Her fighting spirit came directly from fear, which “only hampered her” (Martel 131). Orange Juice falls prey to the fearless hyena despite her strength and grit. She possessed the skills necessary to survive, but without attitude to use them effectively, her skills proved useless. Orange Juice connects to what could have been Pi, had he not abandoned his old vegetarian, peaceful mindset. Pi does what he needs to survive: he "abandoned the last vestiges of humanness" (Martel 214). When facing death, one must abandon any previous morals in favor savagery to survive, no matter how difficult or terrible. Pi struggles with this key adjustment and almost dies at sea because of it, just like the gentle orangutan.
References from Novel
Physical Characteristics
Common Characteristics/Traits/Habits
Habitat
Common Symbolism